Doctor Zhivago is a novel by Russian author Boris Pasternak, which was published in 1957. The story is set in Russia during the period of the Russian Revolution and Civil War of 1917-1922. The locale of Doctor Zhivago is the Ural Mountains and the STEPPES, two geographical regions in Russia. The Ural Mountains are a mountain range that stretches from north to south through western Russia, while the STEPPES are a vast grassland region located in southern Russia.